Economistsandexpertsonwageshavelongtriedtodiscover
whatfactorswereinfluencingpeople’ssalaries.
Mostofthefactorstheylistedoneortwocenturiesago
arestillimportanttoday.
Oneofthoseiseducation:collegegraduateshaveearned
andarestillearningmorethanworkers
whohaveonlyfinishedhighschool,
andhigh-schoolgraduatesearnmorethanworkers
whodidn’tcompletetheirstudiesthere.
Thedifficultyandlengthofpreparationforaprofession
alsoplaysapartinthesizeofthesalary.
Dangerandresponsibilitymakeadifferencetoo—
themanorwomaninchargeofaproject,
thepersonperformingadifficultordangeroustask,
theairplanepilotresponsibleformanyhumanlives,
usuallygetapropercompensationfortheirpains.
Andyetthereareexceptionstothoserules.
Duetotheneedsofmodernindustry,
technicianswithnocollegeeducationarenowcommandinghighsalaries,
muchclosertothecollegegraduates'salaries
thantheyusedtobeinthepast.
Andtherearemanyjobsinwhichdanger
doesn’tbringmuchcompensation.
Whydoesn’tafiremanearnmorethanapostalclerk,forexample?
Andwhataboutthepolicemanandthecoalminer,
whorisktheirlivesforamodestsalary?
Actually,salariesaregovernedbyacombinationoffactors,
themostimportantbeingoneknownasthelawofsupplyanddemand,
whichsaysthatthevalueofgoodsandservices
isdeterminedbythequantityavailable
comparedwiththenumberofpossiblebuyers.
Iftherearemorechickensonthemarketthanpeoplewishingtobuythem,
thepriceofpoultrygoesdown.
Ifthenumberofspecializedengineers
ismuchlargerthanthenumberofpositionsopentothem,
thesalariesdropevenforthemostimpressiveapplicants.
